


The Stars Above

by haleynovak



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Children, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Dead John Winchester, Kid Castiel, Kid Dean Winchester, Kinda, Mary Winchester Lives, Pining, Stargazing, Teenage Castiel/Teenage Dean Winchester, idk what else to tag this as, marshmallows that are called popcorn because why not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-10
Updated: 2014-11-17
Packaged: 2018-02-24 21:26:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2596961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haleynovak/pseuds/haleynovak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel moves in next to Dean when they're both 6. A cute little story about how they became best friends.</p>
<p>ADDED CHAPTER: 10 years after both boys meet, their friendship is still going strong. But what happens when Dean develops some not-so-friendly feelings for Castiel?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

The Winchesters moved when Dean was 4 years old. Their new home was a cozy two-story house with three bedrooms. One of these bedrooms looked directly at the neighbor’s house. This was Dean’s room. Sammy was across the hall in the room next to Mary’s. After the fire in their old house killed her husband John, Dean’s mother was very protective of her children, especially the 6 month old baby. The Winchesters loved their new home.

When Dean was 6 years old, a new family moved into the house next door. When he saw the moving truck outside, he raced into the kitchen and yanked on Mary’s apron, his bright green eyes wide.

“Mom, the new neighbors are here! Do ya think they have any kids? Do ya think they’re my age? We can play outside, and climb the big tree out back, and-”

“Whoa,” Dean’s mother interjected, “slow down, kiddo. We’ll let them get settled and then go over there to welcome them, okay?”

Dean sighed. “Fine. I’m gonna go watch the Avengers with Sammy.”

Mary chuckled. “You do that. I’ll be in here if you need anything.”

It took hours for the new neighbors to unload the moving truck. Or at least, that’s how it felt to Dean. In reality, it was only about an hour later when there was a knock on the Winchester’s front door.

Mary rushed to the door and pulled it open to reveal a friendly looking woman.

“Hi there,” the woman exclaimed. “My name is Elizabeth Novak. I just moved in next door.”

Mary shook her hand and invited her in. “I was just about to come over with a welcoming present! I hope you like apple pie.”

The two women sat down at the kitchen table and chatted for a while. Dean was uninterested, until, that is, he distinctly heard the word “kids.” He raced to the table and asked if Elizabeth had any children.

“Why yes,” she said with a smile. “I have two, Gabriel and Castiel. In fact, Castiel is probably about your age. How old are you?”

“6 and a quarter,” Dean announced proudly, puffing out his chest.

Elizabeth beamed. “My Castiel just turned 6 a week ago. Maybe you two will become best friends.”

Dean continued to interrogate Elizabeth about Castiel for a while, but eventually the kind woman had to go home. Luckily, “home” was right next door. Mary and Elizabeth planned a meetup at a nearby park so Dean could meet the Novak children.

“See you tomorrow, Liz!” Mary waved as Elizabeth exited the Winchester house and returned to her own. Mary sighed. “I think that they’re going to be great neighbors.”

*****************

The next day, Dean couldn’t wait to go to the park and meet Castiel. He practically dragged Mary the whole way there, both of them laughing boisterously.

“Careful, kiddo,” Mary warned. “You don’t wanna knock Sammy out of his stroller, do you?”

Dean immediately slowed down, not wanting to risk his little brother any harm. He looked down at the small figure in the stroller, squirming and smiling. “Love you, Sammy.”

At that moment, Elizabeth and two young boys came into view. Dean sprinted over to the Novaks, excited to introduce himself.

“Hi there,” he said, “my name is Dean Winchester and I live in the house next to yours. Do you like the Avengers?”

The larger boy approached Dean. He looked to be about 8, and Dean was a little scared of his tall stature.

“I’m Gabriel, but you can call me Gabe. The Avengers are pretty cool. Who’s your favorite?”

Dean groaned at the question. “C’mon, Gabe, that’s not fair! That’s like asking if I like my mom or Sammy more!”

Gabe smirked, a lollipop practically materializing in his hand (as Dean would later learn, Gabe always keeps a stash in his back pocket). “Good choice, kiddo. I also would have accepted Iron Man or Captain America.”

“I like Black Widow best.”

Dean leaned around Gabriel, looking for the source of the shy, quiet voice. He saw two large blue eyes staring back at him from behind Elizabeth. Dean smiled.

“Yeah, Black Widow is super cool. Some people think she’s lame because she’s a girl, but she’s super awesome.”

The timid boy smiled back at Dean. Then, he stepped around his mother and approached Dean. Holding out a hand, he introduced himself.

“Hello, Dean. My name is Castiel.”

Dean firmly gripped Castiel’s hand and shook hard. “Nice to meet you Castiel. That’s a really cool name, but it’s kind of hard to say. Can I call you Cas?”

Castiel looked surprised. “No one’s ever given me a nickname before. Well, except Gabriel. He calls me Cassie, and I hate it. But Cas is good.”

Dean chuckled. “Cool. You wanna play with me? We can play Avengers!”

Cas beamed and exclaimed, “That sounds fun!”

The two boys ran off, leaving their brothers and mothers behind. Mary and Elizabeth shared a look, knowing that the two boys would grow to be inseparable.

*****************

Dean and Castiel played until it started to get dark. Dean begged and begged for Castiel to have a sleepover, and both boy’s moms readily agreed. They were happy to see the kids getting along.

After a few movies, the boys started to yawn. Dean went to go get Mary to tuck them in, but Cas looked outside the window and noticed the starry night sky.

“Dean, can we go look at the stars?”

The Winchester chuckled, but agreed. They grabbed a blanket and headed outside, laying it out on the grass. Dean and Castiel looked up at the stars from the ground, amazed at all that they could see.

“It’s beautiful,” Castiel whispered, causing Dean to smile. He looked over at the other boy, who was wearing Star Wars pajamas. Castiel had a head of messy dark hair and two of the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. Castiel, noticing Dean looking at him, turned to face the other boy.

“Cas,” Dean muttered, “do you wanna be my best friend?”

The blue eyed boy’s face split into a wide smile. “Sure! I’ve never had a best friend before!”

With that, both boys turned back towards the sky, gazing up at the stars above.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, I finally updated this :) Hope you like this chapter.

In the years following their meeting, Dean and Castiel spent every possible moment together. And every night without fail, they stargazed. Sometimes they weren’t able to go outside and lie on the grass, like when that thunderstorm passed through Lawrence and didn’t leave for two days. Still, the best friends watched the stars from a window in Dean’s living room.

Years passed, and the two boys grew closer and closer. Dean and Cas attended the same school and were almost always in the same class. The boys worked on every group project together and helped each other with homework. It started in elementary school, and now, 10 years later, the system was still going strong.

“Cas, what’d you get for problem 3 on the chem sheet?”

Castiel flipped to the worksheet in question. “Well, it’s a precipitate reaction, so you know that the cations are going to switch places on the right side of the equation…”

Dean watched Cas as he explained the solution. His eyes dropped down to Cas’ lips, but only for a second before Dean quickly looked back down at his homework.

Okay, so maybe over the years Dean had grown to like Cas a little more than just as a friend. Well, that might be a bit of an understatement. Dean was head over heels in love with Castiel. But there’s no way he would never tell him that. Cas was Dean’s best friend, and Dean didn’t want to jeopardize that. So Dean kept it bottled up and tried his best to ignore the urge to shut Cas up with a kiss.

“Dean? Are you even paying attention?”

Castiel had finished explaining the problem while Dean was in his reverie. The green eyed boy jumped, a bright red spreading across his cheeks.

“Sorry. I just got a little distracted.”

The corners of Castiel’s mouth turned up. “It’s alright, Dean. Now do your homework.”

The two boys worked quietly for the rest of the afternoon. When it was time for dinner, Cas headed back to his house, while Dean stayed at his own. Cas would be coming back later to stargaze, but Dean still felt a pang of sadness when Cas packed up and left.

Dammit, Dean thought, how did this even happen?

**********

Despite Dean’s prayers for rain (he may have done a short rain dance too… shut up), the night was clear and the stars were bright. Dean really didn’t want to lay out on the grass with Cas. All by themselves. Just the two of them. All alo- SHUT UP! Their nightly stargazing was often when Dean felt the most in love with Cas, and going out there tonight wasn’t going to help him stifle his feelings.

Cas came over early, a bag of marshmallows in hand. “I brought the popcorn,” he said, trying to hold back a smile. When the boys were younger, Cas always called marshmallows "popcorn," and now it was just a thing they did. Dean, despite his bad mood, couldn’t help but smile at the boy he lov- Castiel.

The blue eyed boy excitedly bounced outside, not noticing Dean’s sullenness. Dean followed, wiping his palms on his jeans. He sat next to Castiel, who had already torn into the snacks and was staring up at the sky.

“Look, Dean! I think I see a constellation!” Sure enough, Cas was pointing up at a large grouping of stars that the two boys had discovered was Cassiopeia.

Of course, Dean stupidly looked over at the other boy. Cas was staring up at the sky, a huge smile on his face. His bright blue eyes sparkled in the moonlight, and his skin looked white in contrast with his dark hair. Castiel turned to Dean, and their gazes locked. Castiel’s smile turned bashful, his head turning to face the ground.

Dean gave up on trying to keep his feelings for Cas locked up. He reached out and gently tilted Castiel’s chin upwards until they were looking at each other again. Before he could overthink it and chicken out, Dean leaned in, capturing Cas’s lips with his own.

The kiss only lasted for a second, before Dean realized what he had just done and pulled back. He stood up and paced around the backyard. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. What was I thinking? I’m sorry, I’m-” He was stopped by Cas’s hand on his shoulder.

“Dean,” the other boy whispered, pulling Dean into another kiss. This time, when the two boys separated, Dean didn’t move.

“I didn’t know that you…” Dean stammered, blushing. “I thought that you would hate me after you found out that I liked you.”

Cas smiled. “I could never hate you. Probably because I’m totally, 100 percent in love with you.”

Now it was Dean’s turn to smile. “Well, that’s good then, because I’m in love with you, too. Now, how about we eat some of that delicious popcorn you’ve brought us?”

Of course, the two just sat and made out for a while. That is, until Sam came out to tell them to come inside and shouted an exaggerated “Finally!” at the two boys.

Yep, everything was going to be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like it might have been kind of rushed, but idk. I think this is it for this story, but if anyone really wants another chapter I might be able to come up with something.
> 
> Comments are always appreciated :)


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